Magnetic stacking mechanism



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. B. HOMMEL MAGNETIC STACKING MECHANISM INVENTOR.

WILLIAM B. HOMMEL BY ZM A. a

dam/ QFM ATTORNEYS June 11, 1957 Filed Dec. .28, 1954 FIG. I

ft WW4 June 11, 1957 w. B. HOMMEL 2,795,340

MAGNETIC STACKING MECHANISM F'J' led Dec. 28, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 vINVENTOR;

WILLIAM B. HOMMEL ATTORNEYS MAGNETIC STACKING MECHANISM William B.Hommel, Penn Yan, N. Y., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.a corporation of New Jersey Application December 28, 1954, Serial No.478,049 Claims. (11. 214-6) The present invention relates to a stackingmechanism for stacking metal articles, such as can or container endclosures .and has particular reference to magnetic devices for guidingthe articles through comparatively long distances of travel and forcollecting themin an orderly arrangement. This is an improvement overthe mechanism disclosed in United States Patent 2,640,605 issued June 2,1953 to R. T. Chatterton on a similar mechanism.

In can or container manufacturing practice the end closures after theyare gasket or compound lined are usually stacked to facilitate feedingto the machine which attaches them to the can bodies. The cans areshipped to customers with the bottom closures attached and with the topend open. The top end closures are shipped sep-. arately in packages ofa counted number of stacked closures. The closures making up thesestacks usually are received directly from the upper end of relativelytall machines which dry the lining material in the closures and whichdischarge the closures into a chute from which they fall into positionto form a stack. The distance the closures fall is sometimes ofconsiderable magnitude. The instant invention provides for controllingthe fall of these closures to insure proper stacking.

States Patent An object of the invention is the provision in a stackingmechanism for flat articles of devices for maintaining the articles in apredetermined position, preferably a horizontal position, as they fallthrough comparatively long distances to insure proper stacking of thearticles "at the termination of their fall.

Another object is the provision of such devices wherein the control ofthe falling articles is effected magnetically by substantiallycontinuous magnetic fields which extend for the full length of the dropof the articles to maintain the articles in guided suspension whileretarding their fall to an extent which results in a gentle settling ofthe articles into place in the stack.

Another object is the provision of such devices wherein the magneticeffect on the falling articles may be ad justed to the weightordimensions of the articles being stacked to insure full control overthe falling articles so that they will properly settle into position inthe stack.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a stacking mechanism embodying theinstant invention, with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged. sectional view of the upper portion of themechanism as taken substantially along the line 2. 2 in Fig. 1; v V

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional .view taken along the line 3-.-,3 inFig. l; and 7 Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views takensubstantially along the respective lines ..4w..4, 5*,5 in Fig. 1.

As a preferred or exemplary embodimentof the instant Substantiallyoutside diameter of the invention the drawings illustrate amechanism ofthe character disclosed in the above mentioned Chatterton Patent2,640,605 for arranging circular flat, metal can ends or closures A(Fig. 2) in a vertical stack for shipment or for feeding into asubsequent operation machine. The can ends A are received from anysuitable source of supply in a substantially continuous procession byWay of an inclined chute 21 (Figs. 1 and 2). The lower terminal end ofthe chute 21 is formed with a vertically disposed cylinder 22 havingopen top and bottom ends through which the can ends A pass in asubstantially horizontal position for arrangement in stacked relation.This cylinder 22 connects with a vertically disposed elongated hoppergenerally indicated by the numeral 24. The hopper 24 is of considerablelength depending upon the height of the chute 21 from the lower end ofthe hopper and is the receptacle in which the can ends A are accumulatedin stacked relation at the thereof.

A suitable feeding mechanism is disposed at the bottom of the elongatedhopper 24 to discharge the stacked can ends therefrom. The type ofdischarge mechanism used is dependent upon requirements. Where thestacked ends Agare to feed directly into a subsequent operation machine,a discharge device of the character shown in the above mentionedOhatterton Patent 2,640,605 may be used. Where the can ends are to becounted and segregated into stacks a conventional counting device may beused such as a pair of vertically disposed continuously rotatingcounting screws 26, 27 shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Where thestacked can ends are to be removed manually by lowering them from thebottom end of the hopper, a conventional cut off device comprising apair of pivotally mounted cut off blades 28 (Fig. 5)

located on opposite sides of the hopper and movableinto and out of thehopper by connecting links 31 and a handle 32 as shown'also in Fig. 1,may be used to cut off a portion of the stack for removal whilesupporting the remaining portion in the hopper.

In the stacking of the can ends they are magnetically controlled so asto insure proper guiding through the hopper 24 and positioning on top of'the stack formed at the bottom end of the hopper. 'For this purpose thebottom end of the chute cylinder 22 rests on and is in verticalalignment with a nonmagnetic vertical guide sleeve 35 (Figs. 2 and 3)which constitutes the upper portion of the hopper 24. The lower end ofthe sleeve 35 is secured to a nonmagnetic square support ring or collarbracket 36. v

The inner face of the guide sleeve 35 preferably is cylindrical and of adiameter slightly greater than the can ends A to facilitate passage ofthe can endstherethrough. The outer face of the sleeve 35 preferably istapered outwardly and downwardly from its upper end so that the sleeveis thicker at its lower end than at its upper end. This is toaccommodate a pair of complementary tapered magnet pole members 38 whichsurround the sleeve 35 and extend the full height of the sleeve. I ablyare of rectangular bar configuration having a cut away cylindricalsection with faces tapered outwardly and downwardly from their upperedges to coincide with the tapered faces of the sleeve. These polemembers 38 are secured to the collar bracket 36. The adjacent ends ofthe members 38 are connected by a pair .of permanent horseshoe magnets41, 42. The north (N) and south (S) poles of the magnets 41, 42 arearranged as shown in Fig. 3.

This arrangement of the magnet poles sets up a pair of cooperatingmagnetic fields across the upper portion of the hopper 24 and the canends moving therethrough, he l n s of f c .ofnn ma net c fiel com in nwi h t Patented June 11, 7

bottom portion The pole members 38 preferlines of force of the othermagnetic field and both fields continuously linking with the movingarticles to set up an extended widely distributed pattern of supportingflux,

Since the inner faces of the pole members 38 are tapered downwardly andoutwardly a gradually increasing distance is provided for the lines ofmagnetic flux of magnetic force passing between the pole members ofopposite polarity as viewed from top to bottom, and in effect thisprovides a plurality of layers or strata of magnetic lines of force,each layer having a different flux density. Since the shorter radialdistance between the pole member faces for the conduction of themagnetic flux is at the top edges of the pole members, the greatestintensity of the field is at the top edges of the members surroundingthe upper portion of the hopper 24 where the can ends enter;

When a can end A is delivered into the chute 21, it slides down thechute into the cylinder 22 anddrops into the magnetic fields in theupper portion of the hopper 24. As the first can end enters thesemagnetic fields, the magnetic lines of force extending across the hopperact on the falling can end and bring it into a horizontal, balancedposition and hold it suspended temporarily at the top edges of themagnet pole members 38 where the intensity of the fields is at itsmaximum.

A subsequently fed can end A as it slides down the chute 2]., falls ontop of the suspended can end, the suspended can end acting as a guidefor the proper horizontal delivery of the subsequent can end. In thisman- I ner as each can end from the chute 21 falls into place on top ofthe others held in suspension in the upper portion of the hopper 24, theother can ends immediately below settle down in the hopper insubstantial parallelism with the top can end. The magnets 41, 42preferably are of sufiicient strength to maintain only a predeterminednumber of can ends A in suspension in the upper portion of the hopper24, substantially as shown in Fig. 2.

Under normal operation of the mechanism one can end A will drop from thebottom of the magnetic fields distributedby the tapered pole members 38,each time an entering can end is delivered from the chute 21 into thetop fields at their point of maximum intensity.

As each can end A drops from the sleeve 35 at the 'upper portion of thehopper. 24 it enters and falls through a long descending vertical pathof travel to the bottom of the hopper where the falling can endsaccumulate one on top of the other in stacked formation for disposal inany of the ways hereinbefore mentioned. During this fall, the can ends Aare guided and magnetically controlled to maintain them in theiroriginal horizontal position and to break the fall so that their travelis relatively gradual and gentle to insure proper stacking at thetermination of their fall.

This control of the can ends A as they fall through the lower portion ofthe hopper 24 preferably is efiected by a plurality of verticallydisposed magnetic guide rails 45 (Figs. 1, 4 and 5) which surround thepath of travel of the can ends and which extend from the bottom edge ofthe sleeve 35 in the upper portion of the hopper 24 to the lowerterminal end of the hopper. There preferably are four of these guiderails 45. At their upper ends, the rails 45 are secured in thenonmagnetic collar bracket 36. At their lower ends, they are secured ina similar nonmagnetic collar bracket 47 (Figs. 1 and 5) to which thedischarge devices hereinbefore mentioned are attached.

The guide rails 45 preferably are square or rectangular in cross-sectionand each has a curved inner corner which carries a nonmagnet guidesegment 49 (Figs. 4 and 5). These segments 49 extend the full length ofthe guide rails 45 and taken collectively provide a broken orinterrupted guide sleeve of a diameter slightly greater than the outsidediameter of the can ends A to facilitate passage of the can ends throughthe hopper while still serving as guides for the can ends. p

At intervals along their lengths, two adjacent magnetic guide rails 45are connected together by permanent horseshoe control magnets ,51. Thedrawing shows two such magnets 51 connected to these guide rails45although any number of magnets may be so used depending upon thelength of the rails. In a similar manner the opposite pair of adjacentguide rails 45 are connected together by permanent horseshoe controlmagnets 52 which. may or may not be located opposite the magnets 51. Themagnetic guide rails 45 thus connected to the magnets 51, 52 serve aspole pieces for the magnets.

The control magnets 51, 52 set up within the lower portion of the hopper24, i. e. the portion below the lower edge of the sleeve 35, pairs ofmagnet fields, each magnet having a field of its own and the fields ofall the magnets combining and linking continuously with the can endsfalling through the hopper to set up an extended widely distributedpattern of supporting flux which maintains'the falling can ends A ahorizontal and substantially parallel position. 'The fields preferablyare of lesser intensity than the fields in the upper portion of thehopper 24,*i. e. adjacent the tapered poles 38, soas to retard thefalling of the can ends instead of holding them in suspension and thuscontrolling the falling action to pemiit a gradual and gentle descent ofthe can ends. Since these magnetic fields are distributed by the guiderails 45, the supporting flux density of the fields is substantiallyuniform throughout the full length of the lower portion of the hopperand this results in a uniform control of the descent of the can ends.

In order to control the flux density of the magnetic fields, nonmagnetshims 55 are interposed between the magnets 51, 52 and the guide rails45. Similar shims 56 are interposed between the magnets 41, 42 and theirpole members'38 for the same purpose. Thus with separate magnetic fieldsin the upper portion and the lower portion of the hopper 24, fullcontrol of entering can ends A is had in the upper portion of the hopperto properly positionthe can ends and control their entry into the hopperand subsequently through the control magnets 51, 52, to control the fallof the can ends through long distances to deliver the can ends in properhorizontal position for stacking one on top of the other. i

It is thought that the invention and many of its attend-ant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereiubefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

1.1 In a mechanism for stacking magnetizable articles such as can endsor the like, the combination of an elongated hopper for receiving aplurality of the articles at the top portion thereof and foraccumulating them in stacked position at the bottom portion thereof,means for feeding said articles into saidhopper, at least a pair ofmagnets disposed adjacent said hopper at the top portion thereof, eachmagnet having a field of its own and the fields of all the magnetscontinuously linking with the moving articles entering said hopperthereby widely distributing the lines of force of said fields in saidarticles for balancing and maintaining in substantial parallelismarticles entering said hopper, and a plurality of sets of controlmagnets disposed adjacent the intermediate portion of said hopper belowsaid top portion, said control magnets extendingcontinuously throughoutsaid intermediate hopper portion and setting up therewithin uniformmagnetic fields continuously linking with the articles moving throughsaid hopper for balancing and maintaining the continuously movingarticles in substantial parallelisrn and for controlling theiruninterrupted and retarded travel through said hopper into properposition in stacked relation at the bottom of said hopper.

2. In a mechanism for stacking magnetizable articles such as can ends orthe like, the combination of an elongated hopper comprising an upperportion and a lower portion for receiving a plurality of the articles atthe top of the upper portion thereof and for accumulating them instacked position at the bottom of the lower portion thereof, means forfeeding said articles into said hopper, at least a pair of magnetsdisposed adjacent the upper portion of said hopper, each magnet having afield of its own and the fields of all the magnets continuously linkingwith the moving articles entering the upper portion of said hopperthereby widely distributing the lines of force of said fields in saidarticles for balancing and maintaining in substantial parallelismarticles entering said hopper, a plurality of vertically disposedradially spaced and parallel magnetizable pole pieces extendingcontinuously throughout the intermediate and lower portions of saidhopper, and a plurality of control magnets disposed adjacent andcommunicating magnetically with said pole pieces and locatedintermediate the top and bottom ends thereof, said control magnetsthrough said pole pieces setting up within the intermediate and lowerportions of said hopper uniform magnetic fields continuously linkingwith the articles moving through the intermediate and lower portions ofsaid hopper for balancing and maintaining the continuously movingarticles in substantial parallelism and for controlling theiruninterrupted and retarded travel through the lower portion of saidhopper into proper position in stacked relation at the bottom of saidhopper.

3. In a mechanism for stacking magnetizable articles such as can ends orthe like, the combination of an elongated hopper comprising an upperportion and subjacent intermediate and lower portions for receiving aplurality of the articles at the top of the upper portion thereof andfor accumulating them in stacked position at the bottom of the lowerportion thereof, means for feeding said articles into said hopper atleast a pair of magnets disposed adjacent the upper portion of saidhopper, each magnet having a field of its own and the fields of all themagnets continuously linking with the moving articles entering the upperportion of said hopper thereby widely distributing the lines of force ofsaid fields in said articles for balancing and maintaining insubstantial parallelism articles entering said hopper upper portion, a

plurality of vertically disposed radially spaced and parallelmagnetizable pole pieces extending continuously through the intermediateand lower portions of said hopper, said pole pieces having continuousnonmagnetic guide members attached thereto for guiding said articlesthrough said hopper, and a plurality of control magnets disposedadjacent and communicating magnetically with said pole pieces andlocated intermediate the top and bottom ends thereof, said controlmagnets through said pole pieces setting up within the intermediate andlower portions of said hopper uniform magnetic fields continu ouslylinking with the articles moving through intermediate and lower hopperportions for balancing and maintaining the continuously moving articlesin substantial parallelism and for controlling their uninterrupted andretarded travel through the intermediate and lower hopper portions intoproper position in stacked relation at the bottom of the hopper.

4. In a mechanism for stacking magnetizable articles such as can ends orthe like, the combination of an elongated hopper comprising an upperportion and a lower portion for receiving a plurality of the articles atthe top of the upper portion thereof and for accumulating them instacked position at the bottom of the lower portion thereof, means forfeeding said articles into said hopper, at least a pair of magnetsdisposed adjacent the upper portion of said hopper, each of said magnetshaving a field of its own and having faces adjacent said hopper taperingoutwardly and downwardly from their upper edges, said tapered facesproviding at their upper edges the maximum flux density of said fieldsfor temporarily holding an article in suspension as a guide andtemporary support for the next incoming article entering between saidmagnets and for suspending in spaced relation other articles adjacentsaid faces for gradual lowering thereof into said hopper as incomingarticles enter between said magnets at their upper edges, and aplurality of control magnets disposed adjacent and extendingcontinuously throughout the lower portion of said hopper, said controlmagnets having parallel faces disposed adjacent said hopper and settingup within said hopper uniform magnetic fields continuously linking withthe articles moving gradually through said hopper for balancing andmaintaining the continuously moving articles in substantial parallelismand for controlling their gradual and uninterrupted retarded travelthrough the lower portion of said hopper into proper position in stackedrelation at the bottom of said hopper.

5. In a mechanism of the character disclosed in claim 2 whereinnonmagnetic shims are interposed between said magnets and said polepieces to vary the controlled flux density of said fields.

Strickland Feb. 4, 1947 Chatterton June 2, 1953

